English

Etymology

From German Festschrift
("festschrift"), from Fest, festival and
Schrift,
writing, from Middle High German Schrift, from Old High German
Scrift, from scrban, to write, from Latin scribere, from an
Indo-European Root believed to be skrbh-.

''I do not have the opportunity here because of the extent of
time to go through the whole text but it will be published in
English if anyone is interested in the festschrift for Prima Niles
retirement as General Secretary of the Council for World Mission,
so if anyone is interested it will come there.''

Translations

In academia, a Festschrift
(/ˈfɛstˌʃrɪft/; plural, Festschriften,
/ˈfɛstˌʃrɪf.tən/) is a book honouring a
respected academic and
presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from
German,
could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory
(piece of) writing. A comparable book presented posthumously is
called a Gedenkschrift (memorial publication).

A Festschrift contains original contributions by
the so honoured academic's close colleagues, often including his or
her former doctoral
students. It is typically published on the occasion of the
honoree's retirement, sixtieth or sixty-fifth birthday, or other
notable career anniversary. A Festschrift can be anything from a
slim volume to a work in several volumes. The essays usually relate
to in some way, or reflect upon, the honoree's contributions to
their scholarly field, but can often include important original
research by the individual authors. Many Festschriften also feature
a tabula gratulatoria, an extended list of academic colleagues and
friends who send their best wishes to the honoree.

In the case of very prominent academics, several
Festschriften might be prepared by various groups of students and
colleagues, particularly if the scholar made significant
contributions to several different fields. In Germany it is an
honor to be designated to prepare such a collection, and being
selected by a prominent academic to edit a Festschrift can
symbolize the proverbial passing of the torch.

Since no English designation for such a book has
been established, the German word Festschrift is widely used
internationally. However, Festschriften are often titled something
like Essays in honour of... or Essays presented to...

Academics who had a notable Festschrift

Raymond
Firth During his long and notable career, Sir Raymond Firth had
three festchriften published in his honour.

James D.
McCawley Two Festschriften, the earlier one (1972) subtitled
Defamatory essays presented to James D. McCawley on his 33rd or
34th birthday and anthologizing pseudonymous articles. Some are by
McCawley himself, notably the opening paper. The Festschrift was
reprinted two decades later.

Webfestschrift

Increasingly, Festschriften are being compiled
and published by electronic means. An electronic Festschrift is
often called a Webfestschrift (pronounced either /vɛb-/ or /wɛb-/). Although there are many valuable
collections published online, the first public use of this term
corresponds to B.I Marshak's Webfestschrift, Eran ud Aneran, published
online on October 2003.